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iPad 3. Really? That’s it?

Let me start by saying that I owned an iPad from the very beginning. I had the first iPad and currently have the iPad 2 and I love it! My wife loves it and my kids love it. The iPad is on a very short list of technologies that changed the world as well as changed us, and probably for the better. I’m sure that we’ve seen only the beginning of that the iPad/Widows8/Android type devices will do in the future. The question I’m asking here is: should you upgrade to iPad3 if you already own an iPad?

As part of my responsibilities as a CTO of a technology startup is to try different technologies, being software in nature or hardware. So I really “had” to get an iPad 3, ahem… I mean the NEW iPad (sorry Tim) and check it out. Yes, I know you feel my pain… so here goes:

The screen is crisp and sharp like nothing you ever seen in your life. And that’s about it.

If you look hard and watch the hour+ long Apple presentation video, like all good tech geeks, you’ll see other cool features. These will make you feel good about spending about $800-$900 on this new purchase. Don’t tell me it’s cheaper, you’ll need the cool cover and the Apple Care is a must and, of course, you have to add tax unless you plan on driving to Vegas.

But most people are not tech geeks, they don’t watch the Apple videos (and cheerfully clap while watching) or read TechCrunch or share every new small feature discovery with everyone else they know. They don’t know about “Retina display” (it was funny to see my kids’ reaction to that word when I told them) or care about the A5X processor. Most people are, well, normal people that like the iPad because it an amazing device that a two year old can figure out.

Until now Apple took the market forward in leaps and bounds in each release, and not just on the iPad front. I was pleasantly surprised each time to see the advances they make between releases and in a relatively short time. Not just in software changes, but especially hardware ones. I think we just became used to actual change that is worth our time and money and Apple delivered.

My reaction to the new iPad was chill and a bit disappointed. I expected more for the money. My kids reaction, when I put the new iPad next to the iPad 2 was: “What’s the difference?”. So I pointed it out and zoomed in on some email to show how crisp the text is, but then I realized that it’s too late, they don’t care. As for my wife, you really don’t want to know her reaction…

In conclusion I can say that if you don’t have an iPad stop being a dinosaur, step out of the cave and run to the next Apple store and buy one today. If you have an iPad 2 save your money for something better because this is not it. If you have an iPad 1, think hard if you want to spend $800 now.

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Couldn’t have said it better. I was at the store the other day with my daughter who has an exclusive on the iPad 2 and I showed her the 3 (sorry… new) and her reaction was the same as Alon’s kids. I get the higher resolution screen and LTE, but those are not enough for a “NEW” iPad. In my opinion, Apple is finally hitting a road block in the innovation department when it comes to iPhones and iPads. The iPhone 4S and New iPad are not revolutionary nor are they a necessary upgrade.